Five years. I stumble over the words as I recall the memories of the day my life changed forever. When youre seventeen, youre invincible, in your eyes anyway. When youre young and havent truly experienced life, you dont think about tragedy. You dont think about a lot of things, at that age, until they happen to you. There are exceptions, naturally, but for the average teenager, including myself at that age, being naive is pretty standard. On August 18, 2009, I saw just how easily your world can be flipped upside down. When I crashed my car on the way to school that day, my life didnt flash before my eyes, it ended for a long time. One of my best friends, Chris, was in the passenger seat of my car that day. After suffering a traumatic brain injury and breaking several bones in his back, he was in critical condition. He fought for his life and overcame all odds. He went through months and months of hospitalization and rehabilitation and the progress he made is truly amazing. He lets nothing hold him back and he is a hero in the eyes of many. The accident left me with multiple lacerations, broken bones, and fractures to my face, head, neck, and arms, which led to multiple facial reconstructive surgeries. Although I went through my own fair share of injuries, I hurt mostly on the inside. After five years of battling chronic depression, anxiety, insomnia, and guilt, I have my ups and downs but Im at an ok place. Seeing Chris progress truly kept me alive. I never wanted anything more in my life than to see him overcome and succeed. Ive never cared about anyone the way I have cared about him. Ive never met a stronger person, both mentally and physically and he continues to inspire me every single day. Some of you have heard this story a dozen times, and some may be hearing for the first time, but its my story and its one I will continue to tell. My life revolves around this story, and while I no longer let it consume me, it does make me who I am.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 23:19:24 +0000
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